Heat exchanger support structure and heat exchanger supporting method

ABSTRACT

A heat exchanger support structure has a first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger, and a radiator core support for supporting the first heat exchanger. The first heat exchanger has a lower supporting pin projecting downward from a lower portion of the first heat exchanger. The second heat exchanger arranged in front of the first heat exchanger and having an upper portion and a lower portion The upper portion is supported by the radiator core support and the lower portion is supported by the lower supporting pin of the first heat exchanger so that the lower supporting pin restricts a horizontal movement of the second heat exchanger and allows a vertical movement of the second heat changer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger support structure,which is useful for a motor vehicle, which supports a first heatexchanger and a second heat exchanger, and also relates to a heatexchanger supporting method of the same support structure.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional heat exchanger support structure having a first heatexchanger and a second heat exchanger is disclosed in Japanese UtilityModel Laid-open No. Jikkaihei 4-35017. In this conventional supportstructure, the first and second heat exchangers are supported by aradiator core support secured to a vehicle body. The second heatexchanger is fixed to the radiator core support by additional brackets.

However, the conventional radiator core support structure hasdisadvantages in that its manufacturing process and cost increase intheir assembly due to the additional brackets for fixing the second heatexchanger to the radiator core support or due to a complicated-shapedradiator core support.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a heatexchanger support structure which can decrease manufacturing process andmanufacturing cost.

It is, therefore, another object of the present invention to provide aheat exchanger support structure assembly method which can decreasemanufacturing process and manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided aheat exchanger support structure comprising heat exchanger supportstructure comprising: a first heat exchanger; a second heat exchanger;and a radiator core support for supporting the first heat exchanger. Thefirst heat exchanger has a lower supporting pin projecting downward froma lower portion of the first heat exchanger. The second heat exchangerarranged in front of the first heat exchanger and having an upperportion and a lower portion. The upper portion is supported by theradiator core support and the lower portion is supported by the lowersupporting pin of the first heat exchanger so that the lower supportingpin restricts a horizontal movement of the second heat exchanger andallows a vertical movement of the second heat changer.

This heat exchanger support structure can decrease manufacturing processand manufacturing cost.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda heat exchanger supporting method in which a radiator core supportsupports a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, the methodcomprising: supporting an upper portion of the second heat exchanger bythe radiator core support; and supporting a lower portion of the secondheat exchanger by a lower supporting pin projecting downward from alower portion of the first heat exchanger so that the lower supportingpin restricts a horizontal movement of the second heat exchanger andallows a vertical movement of the second heat exchanger.

This heat exchanger supporting method can decrease manufacturing processand manufacturing cost.

Preferably, the lower supporting pin is made of resin.

Therefore, it provides easy fracture of the supporting pin in a lightbump, such as a bump where an impact applied to a bumper pushes andmoves the second heat exchanger slightly rearward, thereby preventingthe first heat exchanger from fatal damage.

Preferably, the lower supporting pin is coupled with a bracket of thesecond heat exchanger so that the second heat exchanger is supported bythe first heat exchanger.

Therefore, manufacturing process and manufacturing cost can bedecreased.

Preferably, the lower supporting pin supports the second heat exchangerthrough an elastic member.

Therefore, vibration applied to the second heat exchanger and attachmenterrors between the lower supporting pin and the second heat exchangercan be absorbed.

Preferably, the first heat exchanger is a radiator and the second heatexchanger is an oil cooler.

Therefore, they are suitable for a motor vehicle.

Preferably, the heat exchanger support structure further comprises athird heat exchanger, and the third heat exchanger is arranged in frontof the radiator and supported by the radiator.

Therefore, three heat exchangers can be arranged in compact.

Preferably, the first heat exchanger is a radiator, the second heatexchanger is an oil cooler, and the third heat exchanger is a condenser.

Therefore, they are suitable for a motor vehicle.

Preferably, the first heat exchanger has a lower portion under theradiator core support when the first heat exchanger is attached to theradiator core support.

Therefore, it can provide easy installation of the second heat exchangerto the first heat exchanger.

Preferably, the upper portion of the second heat exchanger is supportedby a welded bolt fixed on the radiator core support.

Therefore, it decreases manufacturing process and manufacturing cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent as the description proceeds when taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a heat exchanger supportstructure of an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a radiator core support structure usedin the heat exchanger support structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a radiator to be mounted onthe radiator core support shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and used in the heatexchanger support structure of the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an condenser shown in FIG. 1and used in the heat exchanger support structure of the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of an oil cooler to be supportedby the radiator shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and used in the heat exchangersupport structure of the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a lower elastic member forsupporting the heat exchanger on the radiator core support shown in FIG.2;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the radiator shown in FIGS. 1and 3 and the oil cooler shown in FIGS. 1 and 5; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a lower mount portion of theoil cooler shown in FIGS. 1, 5 and 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Throughout the following detailed description, similar referencecharacters and numbers refer to similar elements in all figures of thedrawings, and their descriptions are omitted for eliminatingduplication.

A heat exchanger support structure of an embodiment according to thepresent invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. In this description, the terms “right”, “left”, “front” and“rear” are those identified with respect to a vehicle body, not to thosein the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown the heat exchanger support structureof the embodiment, which is attached to a front portion of a not-shownvehicle body of a motor vehicle.

The heat exchanger support structure includes a radiator core support 1fixed to the front portion of the vehicle body, a radiator 2 arranged ata rear side of the radiator core support 1, a condenser 3 arrangedbetween the radiator core support 1 and the radiator 2, and an oilcooler 4 arranged at a front of the radiator 2 and the condenser 3 andunder the radiator core support 1.

The radiator 2 acts as a first heat exchanger of the present invention,the oil cooler 4 acts as a second heat exchanger of the presentinvention, and the condenser 3 acts as a third heat exchanger of thepresent invention.

The radiator core support 1 comprises a radiator core upper member 11, aradiator core lower member 12, a radiator core left side member 13A, aradiator core right side member 13B, a hood lock stay 14, a radiatorcore upper left side member 15A, and a radiator core upper right sidemember 15B.

As shown in FIG. 2, the radiator core upper member 11 is arranged toextend in a lateral direction of the vehicle body, and the radiator corelower member 12 is arranged in parallel with and under the upper member11, when the radiator core support is attached to the front portion ofthe vehicle body.

The radiator core left side member 13A connects left edge portions ofthe upper member 11 and the lower member 12 with each other, and theradiator core right side member 13B connects right edge portions of theupper member 11 and the lower member 12 with each other so that themembers 11, 12, 13A and 13B form a rectangular frame.

The hood lock stay 14 connects center portions of the upper member 11and the lower member 12.

The radiator core upper left side member 15A is connected with the leftedge portion of the upper member 11, and the radiator core upper rightside member 15B is connected with the right edge portion of the uppermember 1. The upper left and right side members 15A and 15B are formedto project outward and rearward from the edge portions, respectively.These upper side members 15A and 15B are bolted to a front left portionand a front right portion of the vehicle body, respectively, to act as afront part of the vehicle body.

The upper member 11 is provided with an upper left bracket 16A formedwith a left mounting hole 16 a on its upper left portion between thehood lock stay 14 and the left side portion 13A. The upper member 11 isalso provided with an upper right bracket 16B formed with a rightmounting hole 16 b on its upper right portion between the hood lock stay14 and the right side portion 13B. The upper left and right brackets 16Aand 16B are fixed to an upper surface of the upper member 11 to projectrearward therefrom for supporting an upper portion of the radiator 2.

In the left and right mounting holes 16 a and 16 b, a left elasticmember 5A with a hole and a right elastic member 5B with a hole areinserted, respectively.

The lower member 12 is provided with a lower left bracket 17A and alower right bracket 17B at its rear side, both of which project rearwardfor supporting a lower portion of the radiator 2.

The lower member 12 has a left welded bolt 18A, a right welded bolt 18Band a center welded bolt 18C on its front side. The welded bolts 18A to18C project forward for supporting an upper portion of the oil cooler 4by using a left nut 18 a, a right nut 18 b and a center nut 18 c.

The radiator core support 1, including members 11, 12, 13A, 13B, 14, 15Aand 15B, the brackets 16A, 16B, 17A and 17B, and the bolts 18A to 18C,is entirely made of metal.

As shown in FIG. 3, the radiator 2 has an upper tank 21, a lower tank 22in parallel with and under the upper tank 21, a radiator core 20arranged between the upper and lower tank 21 and 22.

The upper tank 21 is formed with an upper left mounting pin 23A on itsleft upper surface and an upper right mounting pin 23B on its rightupper surface, both of which project upward from the upper surfaces. Theupper tank 21 has a pipe at its rear side. The pipe, the left and rightmounting pins 23A and 23B and the upper tank 21 are integrally formed ofresin.

The lower tank 22 is formed with a lower left bracket 25A and a lowerright bracket 25B on its front portion, both of which project forwardfrom the front portion. The left and right brackets 25A and 25B areformed with a lower left supporting pin 26A and a lower right supportingpin 26B on their bottom portions, respectively. The left and rightsupporting pins 26A and 26B project downward from bottom portions tosupport a lower portion of the oil cooler 4. The lower tank 22 has apipe at its rear side. The pipe, the left and right brackets 25A and25B, the left and right supporting pin 26A and 26B and the lower tank 22are integrally formed of resin.

Incidentally, one of the pipes of the upper and lower tanks 21 and 22 isset to be an inlet pipe of the coolant, and the other of them is set tobe an outlet pipe of the coolant. The pipes are connected with anot-shown engine through not-shown communicating pipes.

The upper and lower tanks 21 and 22 are connected at their both edgeportions by a left side member 29A and a right side member 29B,respectively. The upper and lower tanks 21 and 22, the left and rightside members 29A and 29B contain the radiator core 20.

The left and right side members 29A and 29B are provided with an upperleft bracket 27A and an upper right bracket 27B on their upper sides,respectively. The upper left and right brackets 27A and 27B projectoutward in a lateral direction of the radiator 2 and in directionsopposite to each other for supporting an upper portion of the condenser3.

The left and right side members 29A and 29B are also provided with anintermediate left bracket 24A and an intermediate right bracket 24B ontheir intermediate sides. The intermediate left and right brackets 24Aand 24B project outward in the lateral direction of the radiator 2 andin directions opposite to each other to be supported by the lower leftand right brackets 17A and 17B of the lower member 12 of the radiatorcore support 1.

The left and right side members 29A and 29B are further provided with alower left bracket 28A and a lower right bracket 28B on their lowersides, respectively. The lower left and right brackets 28A and 28Bproject forward for supporting a lower portion of the condenser 3 andare formed with a left hole 28 a and a right hole 28 b, respectively.

The radiator core 20 has a plurality of core tubes and fins, not shown,arranged to extend in the lateral direction of the radiator 2. The coretubes and fins are made of alminum and alternately disposed so thatcoolant can flow down along the core tubes, exchanging heat between thecoolant and the air.

A height of the radiator 2 is set to be larger than that of the radiatorcore support 1, a distance between the upper member 11 and the lowermember 12 thereof. Accordingly, the lower portion of the radiator 2emerges under the radiator core support 1 when they are assembled witheach other.

As shown in FIG. 4, there is shown the condenser 3. The condenser 3includes a left tank 31A, a right tank 31B, and a condenser core 30arranged between the tanks 31A and 31B. The condenser core 30 has aplurality of tubes and fins, both of which are made of alminum.

The left and right tanks 31A and 31B are provided with a left bracket32A and a right bracket 32B at their top portions, respectively. Theleft and right brackets 32A and 32B project outward in a lateraldirection of the condenser 3 and in directions opposite to each other tobe supported by the radiator 2.

The left and right tanks 31A and 31B are also provided with a leftsupported pin 33A and a right supported pin 33B on their bottomsurfaces, respectively. The left and right supported pins 33A and 33Bproject downward from the bottom surfaces to be insertable into the leftand right holes 28 a and 28 b of the lower left and right brackets 28Aand 28B of the radiator 2, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 5, there is the oil cooler 4. The oil cooler 4 has acooler core 40 including a plurality of tubes and fins, both of whichare made of alminum. The oil cooler 4 is provided with an upper leftbracket 41A, an upper right bracket 41B, and an upper center bracket 41Con its upper portion. The upper left, right and center brackets 41A, 41Band 41C project upward from the upper portion to be supported by thewelded left, right and center bolts 18A, 18B and 18C of the radiatorcore support 1 and nuts 18 a to 18 c, respectively.

FIG. 6 shows an enlargement view of a part, enclosed by a circle UB inFIG. 5, of the upper left bracket 41A. The upper left bracket 41A isformed with a hole for fixing an elastic member 6A in it. The hole has aslit 41 a for the elastic member 6A to be easily inserted. The elasticmember 6A has a hole 61 a for receiving the left welded bolt 18A.

The upper right and center brackets 6B and 6C are constructed similarlyto the upper left bracket 6A to have holes with slits 41 b and 41 c, theholes being insertable by elastic members 6B and 6C with a hole forreceiving the right welded bolt 18B and a hole for receiving the centerwelded bolt 18C, respectively.

The upper right and center brackets 41B and 41C are constructedsimilarly to the upper left bracket 41A to have holes with slits 41 band 41 c, the holes being insertable by elastic members 6B with a holefor receiving the right welded bolt 18B and a hole for receiving thecenter welded bolt 18C of the radiator core support 1, respectively.

The lower portion of the oil cooler 4 is provided with a lower leftbracket 42A and a lower right bracket 42B, which project rearward to besupported by the lower left and right supporting pins 26A and 26B asshown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows an enlargement view of a part, enclosed by a circle LB inFIG. 7, of the lower left bracket 42A. The lower left bracket 42A isformed with a hole for fixing an elastic member 7A in it. The hole has aslit 42 a for the elastic member 7A to be easily inserted. The elasticmember 7A has a hole 7 a for receiving the lower left supporting pin 26Aof the radiator 2.

The lower right bracket 42B is constructed similarly to the lower leftbracket 42A to have a hole with a slit, the hole being insertable by anelastic member 7B with a hole for receiving the lower right supportingpin 26B of the radiator 2.

In this embodiment, the elastic members 5A, 5B, 6A to 6C, 7A and 7B areinsulators made of synthetic rubber so as to absorb vibration andattachment errors.

Next, how to build the heat exchanger support structure of theembodiment will be described.

First, the radiator core support 1, the radiator 2, the condenser 3 andthe oil cooler 4 are provided.

The condenser 3 is mounted on the radiator 2 by inserting the left andright supported pins 33A and 33B into the holes 28 a and 28 b of thelower left and right brackets 28A and 28B of the radiator 2 throughnot-shown elastic members, respectively. The upper left and rightbrackets 32A and 32B of the condenser 3 are arranged in front of theupper left and right brackets 27A and 27B of the radiator 2 so that theholes 32 a and 32 b of the condenser 3 can lap on the holes 27 a and 27b of the radiator 2, respectively. The condenser 3 is fixed on theradiator 2 by not-shown nuts and not-shown bolts penetrating the holes27 a, 27 b, 32 a and 32 b.

Next, the radiator 2 and condenser 3 are attached to the radiator coresupport 1, as shown in FIG. 1, by inserting the upper left and rightmounting pins 23A and 23B of the radiator 2 into the holes 16 a and 16 bof the upper left and right brackets 16A and 16B of the radiator coresupport 1 through the elastic members 5A and 5B, respectively. Inaddition, the intermediate left and right brackets 24A and 24B of theradiator 2 are secured on the lower left and right brackets 17A and 17Bof the radiator core support 1 by not-shown bolts and nuts throughnot-shown elastic members, respectively.

Then, the oil cooler 4 is attached to the radiator core support 1 andthe radiator 2, as shown in FIG. 7, by inserting the lower left andright supporting pins 26A and 26B of the radiator 2 into the holes ofthe lower left and right brackets 42A and 42B of the oil cooler 4through the elastic members 7A and 7B, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, the left, right and center welded bolts 18A, 18B and18C of the radiator core support 1 are inserted into the holes of theupper left, right and center brackets 41A, 41B and 41C of the oil cooler4 through the elastic members 6A, 6B and 6C and fastened by nuts 18 a,18 b and 18 c, respectively.

Note that the oil cooler 4 is supported by the radiator 2 so that thelower left and right supporting pins 26A and 26B of the radiator 2restrict a horizontal movement of the oil cooler 4, allowing a verticalmovement thereof.

The radiator core support 1 with the radiator 2, the condenser 3 and theoil cooler 4 is attached to the front part of the vehicle body.

The heat exchanger structure of the embodiment has the followingadvantages.

The oil cooler 4 can be supported by the radiator core support 1 bybolts 18A to 18C and nuts 18 a to 18 c without additional brackets fixedto the radiator core support 1, decreasing the manufacturing process andmanufacturing cost.

The lower portion of the oil cooler 4 is supported by the lower left andright supporting pins 26A and 26B of the radiator 2 so that the lowerleft and right supporting pins 26A and 26B restrict the horizontalmovement of the oil cooler 4, allowing the vertical movement thereof.This can decrease stress applied to the lower tank 22 of the radiator 2.In addition, their assembly does not need a fastening process usingbolts and nuts. Therefore, the manufacturing process and manufacturingcost can be reduced.

The lower left and right supporting pins 26A and 26B of the radiator 2are made of resin, which provides easy fracture of the supporting pins26A and 26B in a light bump, such as a bump where an impact applied to abumper pushes and moves the oil cooler 4 slightly rearward. Therefore,it can prevent the lower tank 22 of the radiator 2 from fatal damage.

These supporting pins 26A and 26B and the lower tank 22 of the radiator2 are integrally formed of resin, which can decrease the manufacturingprocess and manufacturing cost.

While there have been particularly shown and described with reference topreferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that variousmodifications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in theappended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

In this heat exchanger support structure of the embodiment, the lowerleft and right supporting pins 26A and 26B of the radiator 2 are made ofresin, but they may be made of metal. In this case, they are preferablyset to be long ones so that they can be easily deformable in a lightbump.

The number of lower supporting pins of the radiator 2 are not limited.

In this embodiment, the first heat exchanger is the radiator 2 and thesecond heat exchanger is the oil cooler 4, but the heat exchangers maybe not limited to these ones.

The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application (Tokugan) No.2005-085779 filed Mar. 24, 2005 is incorporated herein by reference.

1. A heat exchanger support structure comprising: a first heatexchanger; a second heat exchanger; and a radiator core support forsupporting the first heat exchanger, wherein the first heat exchangerhas a lower supporting pin projecting downward from a lower portion ofthe first heat exchanger, and wherein the second heat exchanger arrangedin front of the first heat exchanger and having an upper portion and alower portion, the upper portion being supported by the radiator coresupport and the lower portion being supported by the lower supportingpin of the first heat exchanger so that the lower supporting pinrestricts a horizontal movement of the second heat exchanger and allowsa vertical movement of the second heat changer.
 2. The heat exchangersupport structure of claim 1, wherein the lower supporting pin is madeof resin.
 3. The heat exchanger support structure of claim 2, whereinthe lower supporting pin and a lower tank of the first heat exchangerare integrally formed of resin.
 4. The heat exchanger support structureof claim 1, wherein the lower supporting pin is coupled with a bracketof the second heat exchanger so that the second heat exchanger issupported by the first heat exchanger
 5. The heat exchanger supportstructure of claim 1, wherein the lower supporting pin supports thesecond heat exchanger through an elastic member.
 6. The heat exchangersupport structure of claim 1, wherein the first heat exchanger is aradiator and the second heat exchanger is an oil cooler.
 7. The heatexchanger support structure of claim 1, further comprising a third heatexchanger, and wherein the third heat exchanger is arranged in front ofthe radiator and supported by the radiator.
 8. The heat exchangersupport structure of claim 7, wherein the first heat exchanger is aradiator, the second heat exchanger is an oil cooler, and the third heatexchanger is a condenser.
 9. The heat exchanger support structure ofclaim 1, wherein the first heat exchanger has a lower portion under theradiator core support when the first heat exchanger is attached to theradiator core support.
 10. The heat exchanger support structure of claim1, wherein the upper portion of the second heat exchanger is supportedby a welded bolt fixed on the radiator core support.
 11. A heatexchanger supporting method in which a radiator core support supports afirst heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, the method comprising:supporting an upper portion of the second heat exchanger by the radiatorcore support; and supporting a lower portion of the second heatexchanger by a lower supporting pin projecting downward from a lowerportion of the first heat exchanger so that the lower supporting pinrestricts a horizontal movement of the second heat exchanger and allowsa vertical movement of the second heat exchanger.
 12. The heat exchangersupporting method of claim 11, wherein the lower supporting pin is madeof resin.
 13. The heat exchanger supporting method of claim 12, whereinthe lower supporting pin and a lower tank of the first heat exchangerare integrally formed of resin.
 14. The heat exchanger supporting methodof claim 11, wherein the lower supporting pin and a lower tank of thefirst heat exchanger are integrally formed of resin.
 15. The heatexchanger supporting method of claim 11, wherein the lower supportingpin is coupled with a bracket of the second heat exchanger so that thesecond heat exchanger is supported by the first heat exchanger.
 16. Theheat exchanger supporting method of claim 11, wherein the first heatexchanger is a radiator and the second heat exchanger is an oil cooler.17. The heat exchanger supporting method of claim 11, further comprisinga third heat exchanger, wherein the third heat exchanger is arranged infront of the radiator and supported by the radiator.
 18. The heatexchanger supporting method of claim 17, wherein the first heatexchanger is a radiator, the second heat exchanger is an oil cooler, andthe third heat exchanger is a condenser.
 19. The heat exchangersupporting method of claim 11, wherein the first heat exchanger has alower portion under the radiator core support when the first heatexchanger is attached to the radiator core support.
 20. The heatexchanger supporting method of claim 11, wherein the upper portion ofthe second heat exchanger is supported by a welded bolt fixed on theradiator core support.